Chapter 3

“Dad, stop!”

“Calm down and listen to me!”

No matter what I say,

Dad refuses to listen.

He chases me around the entrance of the apartment complex, swinging the brick at me.

At first,

I thought Mom and Dad were digging through leftovers because they were trying to save money.

But now,

it is obvious something happened while I was gone.

Something I know nothing about.

By then,

some of the old neighbors have come outside after hearing the commotion.

The moment they see Dad chasing me,

they all stop to watch.

A few of them even clap.

“Robert, good!”

“Hit her harder!”

“That daughter of yours ruined this whole family!”

“That’s right!”

“Someone like her deserves whatever happens to her!”

“Poor Isabella. Having a mother like that is the worst thing that could happen to a child.”

I hear every word.

Then I see the security guard coming over.

“Sir!”

I hurry toward him.

“Please help me!”

He gives me a cold look.

“If I didn’t need to keep this job,”

“I’d hit you too.”

“…”

I have no choice but to dodge into the crowd.

The moment I get an opening,

I grab Dad’s wrist.

“Enough!”

“Stop for one second and listen to me!”

“Listen to what?”

Dad snaps.

“Your mother, Isabella, and I have been sleeping outside!”

“We dig through trash just to eat!”

“And it’s all because of you!”

“You still have the nerve to come back?”

Dad struggles hard, trying to rip his arm free.

I tighten my grip.

“I send Evan twenty-five thousand dollars every month!”

“I told him to renovate your house!”

“I told him to buy you a better place in the city!”

“When did I ever ask you to pay off my debts?”

“When did I ever ask you to sleep outside?”

“Dad, I really am a vice president!”

Maybe because I sound so desperate,

Dad finally calms down a little.

But he still looks at me coldly.

Then he gestures toward the crowd.

“Ask them.”

“See if anyone here believes you.”

I look around.

Every single person is staring at me with contempt.

Some are even smirking.

Mrs. Carter, who used to brag about how successful I was, lets out a bitter laugh.

“Anna, everyone knows you ran up a massive gambling debt overseas.”

I freeze.

“What?”

“Those people were going to cut off your hands and feet.”

“Your husband sold the house to save you.”

“He sold your parents’ home too.”

“Everything valuable is gone.”

“He works six jobs a day now.”

“All just to help pay off your debt.”

She looks me up and down.

“And you still have the nerve to say you’re a vice president?”

Her words hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I slowly turn toward Mom and Dad.

I can barely get the words out.

“Evan told you that?”

They nod.

Mom pulls Isabella into her arms.

Her eyes are red.

Her voice shakes as she speaks.

“Isabella’s eyes went bad, and we didn’t even have money to get her treated.”

“She’s only seven.”

“And now she’ll never see the world again.”

Then she looks at me with pure hatred.

“You bastard.”

“Why didn’t you just die overseas?”